Vital Organs was a temporary exhibition that features the work of L.A.-based artist Shirley Tse. Tse’s sculpture, installation and photography explore the flexibility of materials—plastics, in particular—and their relationship to contemporary artistic, environmental and political conditions. Titled after Tse’s most recent series, Vital Organs, the Philip J. Steele Gallery was proud to host the first exhibition of the artist’s new work worldwide, as well as the first exhibition of Tse’s work in Colorado.

A selection of sculpture, photography, and video from the artist’s collection, Vital Organs spans the past decade of Tse’s career to her most recent work. The exhibition examines the work of an artist who situates the contemporary individual in a world of advanced globalization and mass-production. The sculptures selected for this exhibition are composed of materials such as Styrofoam, foam core, insulation foam, plastics of all types, resin, dirt, aluminum, and sulfur crystals. Tse’s deep understanding of our relationship to materials draws attention to neglected everyday objects, and also subtly raises critical sociopolitical issues about how we relate to and engage with the mass-produced materials that permeate our world, locally and globally.